The Band's final song: Dont Do It - the encore at their final performance

As their final song, after a very long concert with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neils Young and Diamond, Emmy Lou Harris, The Staples, Muddy Waters, and many more, The Band played their great cover of Marvin Gaye's Don't Do it, albeit in a shortened version. They'd been on stage for many hours. Rick Danko and Richard Manuel both died tragically years later. And the rest of them are still plugging along, but no one ever came close to the transcendent heights The Band achieved. The movie this clip is from, Scorsese's Last Waltz engendered a lot of hostility from the Band members (except Robbie Robertson). Rick Danko told a reporter that they usually turned Robertson's mike way down--because he couldn't sing. . .something easily verified by a listen to his solo recordings.

Shine a light! Martin Scorsese's rolling stones movie

click the stones to enlarge

I am not a huge Rolling Stones fan--I liked them in the 60's/70's, but pretty much lost interest sometime around Some Girls.

This concert film reminded me of why I did like them--they wrote some good tunes, and they always had attitude. We saw the movie at IMax--on the six story screen with fantastic sound. It really made me think about what would have become of the Stones if Brian Jones had lived.

The movie was edited with a lot of rapid cuts--and you rarely if ever saw the whole stage. And, of course, the focus was often on Mick, who is still an amazingly energetic dancer and performer. I think the cuts would probably be more tolerable on a smaller screen. It took a couple of minutes to get used to the jump cuts.

The best moments were where Keith Richards was in the spotlight (he sang two tunes). And the camera would frequently zoom in on him. He seemed to happy to have survived, and I had forgotten what an amiably lovable rascal he is. I will buy this movie just to savor those Keith moments. Jack White, Buddy Guy, and Christine Aguilera also did guest shots. Jack White's was just OK. but Aguilera and Buddy Guy were off the hook. You should go see this film. Even if you're not a fan.

/jack reporting from Orange County, California...


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